Introducing… Måns Zelmerlöw

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Introducing... is The Local's guide to Swedish celebrity. In this installment Oliver Gee finds out more about Måns Zelmerlöw - the heartthrob pop star from Lund who'll be all over Swedish TV this summer…

So… what’s the lowdown on this chap?

Zelmerlöw is a 26-year-old Swede who has made a name for himself singing pop music. His hit "Cara Mia" from 2007 shot him to Swedish superstardom and earned him third place at that year's Melodifestivalen. He also came fifth in Swedish Idol 2005.

Third place five years ago and fifth place seven years ago? Why are you telling me about him today?

Well, glad you asked actually – it has been announced that he will be hosting the Allsång på Skansen music fest for the second year in a row. Swedes are going to be seeing a lot more of his face this summer.

How exciting! But what’s Allsång på Skansen?

Allsång? It’s a communal singalong in Stockholm that takes place each week in Stockholm. It’s a rather popular event indeed, read The Local’s lowdown on that one here.

Will do. So is this Måns dude big outside of Sweden?

He’s most likely the same size in every country.

Groan. I mean popular. Is he popular abroad?

Nope, not yet, not "big" in any case, though the Polish pop music community might disagree. A few of his songs have been released there and he even has an online fan club in Polish.

In terms of the English-speaking world, his official website announced in April 2009 that an English version of the site would be “coming soon”. Could be any day now...

So what else does he do?

He has performed in a few musicals, including Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Little Shop Of Horrors and he even played Danny in the musical production of Grease. He's also working on a new CD.

Interesting... So "Måns Zelmerlöw"… how does one pronounce such a name?

Easy peasy. Monns sell-ma-lurve.

Speaking of lurve, is he single?

Woah there, tiger. This is something he seems to be keeping close to his chest, but he was in a rather public relationship with Marie Serneholt for three years.

Who's she then?

She’s another Swedish celebrity who also has hosted Melodifestivalen. She was once in a pop group called A*Teens.

Interesting... perhaps you should do an “Introducing…” on her!

We’ll keep that in mind.

I’ll be keeping an eye out. In the meantime, what can we expect from Monns in the future?

On his official site, he writes: “I want to devote the rest of my life to music and entertainment”. Remember, the site also said in 2009 that an English version will be “coming soon” so who knows what to believe.

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